by Quiarah Butler Manga and Anime convention goerthe age of knowledge grows on me and feedsmy soul, my energy, my mind, the part of methat says “this isn’t blackness; this isn’t cool”but in this new age of Black-awareness, it’s growing on me Gothic aesthetics and music shape my foregroundI’m not…
by George Freek I stare at my unmade bed.Outside, a chilling breezerustles the dead leaves,as if they were feathers.The moon is a ball of lead.I gaze at distant stars,lost in the infinite sky,as if they hadnowhere to abide.A torn shirt, hanging froma tree, waves in the breeze,like an abandoned flag,now…
by Nancy Machlis Rechtman She feels her way through the dappled landscapeCradling the memories of a time when it was filled with lightAnd hopeAnd dreamsInstead of this endless echo chamberOf lonelinessWhere she now resides. The sun has yielded to the moon’s prowessSinking slowly across the Western skyBut this is no…
by Nancy Machlis Rechtman He told me that my eyesWere stars twinkling in the nightAnd when he kissed me he murmuredThat my lips were the sweet petals of roses. My heart became the flutterOf birds’ wings soaring through the treesAnd his wordsWere the silky balm on my wounded soul. “Your…
by Lisa M. Gott Heavy clouds creep acrossforgotten lands — a storm is coming,blowing the tumble weedsof my own destructionacross the never-ending fieldsof a place once called home. Parched, the soil cries out,O, clouds, rain down on me,wash away this decay so that blades of glory may rise up and reachtoward possibility. Blackness circles — a…
by Lisa M. Gott Dried tendrils of overgrown grasssing out into the wind — We have a story to tell. Tucked beneath their blanket,spotted earth painted with blood and tears;droplets of dew encase secretsof battered and bruised indentionsfrom heavy steps scarring soil,but like a seashell, their cries remain;head to earth,…
By Keith Burton i was stretching my legs on the littoralgiving names to the shapes of the cloudsthat swam across the lake’s reflectionwhen trouble came crawling on eight legs. help me across he asked with a period. i knew better; i had an owl’s acuity.no can do, i know you…
By Maggie Kennedy For Alex You and I pick one by onethe wet stones glittering the shore,greedily pocketing the shine,until our shorts bulgelike hamster cheeks,and we walk bow-leggedto the car, turning every fewfeet to look back at the lake as if her shifting moods couldnot be summoned at will, as…
By Maggie Kennedy That song again,and I am in that kissagain that felt so rightbut for the right person. The sudden downpour,dash from the bardown the lamp-lit street,breathless and laughingat our sodden clothes,smell of mud hungrybeneath melting snow,and what the hellshock of his lipsquieting my shivers. A kiss that mighthave…
By Cindy Mercedes She was made of sharp edges and soft curves,eyes a deep brown with specks of gold.She smelled of dew after a rain,of pine cones that littered forest floors. Everything about her was beautiful-from her compassion that blossomed with vibrant colors,breathing new life unto slumbering seeds.To her sincerity…